The dust has settled from two days of the NFL draft, and my head is still spinning with what went on.  Needless to say, the Bills surprised me a couple of times Saturday, which is not to say they disappointed me.

My thoughts are that there are two key picks in this draft for the Bills.  One of them, the first round selection of Eric Wood, the center from Louisville.  The Bills are immediately ready to plug him in as a starting guard.  It’s one move in which should be a full-scale shuffle up front for the Bills.

Here’s what they have in mind on the offense line:

  1. Plug the rookies in at guard-Wood on the left side, Andy Levitre on the right side

 2.  Keep free agent Center Geoff Hangartner at center

  3. Move Brad Butler outside to play right tackle, put Langston Walker in at left tackle.

Had Andre Smith or Eugene Monroe somehow slipped to the Bills pick in the first round (11th) I have no doubt they would select one of them.  But that was unlikely.  And now they’ve drafted a couple of interior offensive linemen and are ready to put them to work with the starting unit.

The other key selection, in my view, was TE Shawn Nelson in the fourth.  Only two tight ends were selected on day one of the draft, leaving plenty of talent for the second day. Credit the Bills for not over-valuing Nelson or any of the other tight ends and waiting patiently until the fourth round.  He has the ability to stretch the field and will provide a good assortment of talent for the Bills at the TE position, along with Derek Schouman and Derek Fine.

I hear some grumbling about the Bills picking back to back CBs in the 6th and 7th rounds, now that’s not a need position.  Here’s the thing–when you get to the late rounds, 6th and 7th, it’s foolish to look to fill needs.  The best available player theory becomes more important in the late rounds, because you’re not expecting to get a player who can step in right away and make an impact.  You’re just looking for talented players.  Do valuable NFL players come out of the 6th and 7th rounds?  Absolutely.  But chances are they were drafted not to fill a need, but simply because they had the highest grades on the board at the time they were chosen.

Give us your thoughts on the Bills draft.